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Stress can affect many of your body’s functions, and your skin is no different. As the body’s largest organ, your skin health often reflects your overall health. Stress symptoms can appear as breakouts, flare-ups, and prolonged recovery periods.

Here’s what you need to know about how stress affects your skin — and what you can do about it.

Stress and Skin

Have you ever ended a stressful day and noticed a breakout of acne on your face or neck? Or maybe you start feeling itchy in places or notice an eczema flare-up? These are all possible symptoms of stress.

Stress is your body’s response to demanding situations. It can manifest in the body as feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or threatened. When the body doesn’t have adequate time to relax, restore, and recover, stress can build up and cause many health risks.

Though we can’t eliminate stress from our lives altogether, understanding how it affects our skin and how to manage it can help.

When your body is under stress, it sends out a chemical response designed to protect you. However, it can inadvertently disrupt the skin’s balance and healing abilities.

The stress hormone cortisol increases oil production in the skin, which can clog pores and cause breakouts. The immune system becomes inflamed, causing preexisting skin conditions to reappear or worsen. The body redirects blood flow to your “survival” organs (such as the heart, brain, and larger muscles), which can slow down wound healing in the skin.

Common Stress-Related Skin Problems

Though stress doesn’t cause these skin conditions to appear, research has linked it to worsening the symptoms and prolonging the healing process. For many people, visibly worsening skin conditions can exacerbate stress, thereby repeating the stress-skin cycle.

Acne

The stress hormone cortisol produces excess sebum (oil), which can clog pores and trigger stress breakouts.  This can appear as stubborn pimples or an outbreak of blackheads or whiteheads around the forehead, nose, chin, and cheeks. Even with a dedicated skin care routine, breakouts can become harder to resolve when the body is under stress.

Recent studies have shown the relationship between stress and skin conditions.

Eczema

The production of cortisol can also trigger existing eczema to flare up. Also called atopic dermatitis, this skin condition causes dry, flaky skin patches that can crack and itch. Practicing stress-management techniques is crucial for keeping eczema symptoms at bay.

Rosacea

Stress can dilate blood vessels in the face. This can worsen the symptom known as flushing — a sudden blushing in the face that can make the skin more inflamed and sensitive. Stress can also cause rosacea to produce bumps or breakouts that look like acne.

Psoriasis

Because psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder, stress is a well-known cause of difficult flare-ups. During a stress breakout, this condition can spread to new areas, become itchier or more painful than usual, and require longer recovery time. The appearance and condition of the skin with psoriasis can also ramp up your stress levels, which can worsen skin symptoms.

Urticaria

Also known as hives, this skin rash can appear as red, raised bumps that may itch, sting, or burn. Some people experience hives breakouts during highly stressful situations. Hives can also impact sleep quality and mood.

Treating Stress to Keep Skin Healthy

Working with a dermatologist to diagnose skin conditions is a great first step in managing symptoms. But understanding how to manage and reduce stress in your daily life can help keep breakouts and skin inflammation at bay.

Try these common stress-reduction techniques to see what may help you.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness exercises such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and visualization can:

• Help regulate the nervous system.
• Lower perceived stress.
• Reduce cortisol levels.
• Support healthier overall hormone regulation.

Other tactics for promoting mindfulness and relaxation in the body include listening to calming music, writing or journaling, creating art, and spending time in nature.

Prioritizing time each day to create a mindfulness practice can help reduce symptoms of skin conditions and help manage your stress.

Exercise

Though we all know working out is healthy for the physical body, it also has a profound impact on mental health and stress management.

Physical activity, especially daily movement that breaks a sweat, can reduce cortisol levels. This can reduce stress, lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety, and boost quality of life.

Take time to find movement exercises that you enjoy — such as walking, swimming, cycling, kayaking, or playing sports.

Sleep hygiene

Sleep plays a big role in overall health. Adults should aim for seven to eight hours of sleep per night to receive its optimal physical and mental health benefits. As many as 50% of Americans today report not getting quality sleep each night, which can worsen stress and other health problems.

Creating a nighttime routine to promote healthy sleep can help clear up your skin, too. This can include:

• Making sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and relaxing.
• Putting away your electronics an hour before bedtime and instead choosing a book, puzzle, craft, or conversation to end the night.
• Warm cups of calming tea, soft music, and a bath or shower before bed can all contribute to a higher-quality night of sleep.

Therapy

Because stress is inevitable in life, working with a licensed mental health counselor or behavioral therapist can help. These professionals can provide a safe space for you to discuss the stressors in your life and break free from unhealthy patterns. Working with a nonjudgmental therapist can help manage stress and promote a healthier lifestyle.

Creating a Consistent Skin Care Regimen

Our skin is an integral part of our body with many functions. It protects us from bacteria and infection, regulates body temperature, recognizes pain, and more. A consistent skin care routine can help promote healthy skin and reduce the symptoms of existing skin conditions.

When it comes to a daily skin care regimen, simpler is better. Moisturizer and sunscreen are two important products that can keep the skin from drying out and protect it from sun damage.

If you’re unsure about what products to use and when, schedule an appointment with your dermatologist. They can create a skin care routine with your specific skin conditions (and stress levels) in mind.

When to See a Doctor About Your Skin

If you notice a flare-up of your skin condition that doesn’t go away with time, set up an appointment with your dermatologist or primary care doctor. UPMC also offers integrative dermatology, which combines both conventional dermatology and integrative medicine. This unique approach addresses not only the symptoms of dermatological conditions but also the underlying factors that may contribute to skin health and disease.

They can help you determine if stress is contributing to your outbreak and suggest ways to address it. They may suggest stress-reducing techniques, working with a therapist, or other treatment methods to help manage your skin condition.

It’s important to remember that stressful situations can happen at any time during life. Practicing stress management now can help reduce triggers in the future.